


Nothin' but time

by ioascc



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon Compliant, Coda, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Episode: s15e20 Carry On
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:09:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27644600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ioascc/pseuds/ioascc
Summary: 'Time up here, it’s… it’s different.'Post-Episode, S15 episode 20.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 21
Kudos: 131





	Nothin' but time

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my friends. I hope this soothes your hurt and you find a little joy in it.

“Hey, Sammy.”

“Dean.”

With a chuckle and tears pricking his eyes, he hugs his brother tight. Face tucked in against Sam’s neck, smelling like home and familiarity. His clothes still smell like they were washed in a flea-bag motel laundry or in those ancient Bunker machines using that awful cheap detergent Dean always bought. Sam is even using the same brand of deodorant they’ve been using since they were young teenage boys. They had shared then, too poor to get their own stick.

Memories and love come trickling in when they hold on to each other. It’s Sam, his boy. His brother that Dean has wrapped around and protected since he’s been four years old.

He even feels the same too. Tall, strong, like he’s eaten way too many salads. Sam definitely did not drink enough beer or eat in gross diners without Dean. Dean doesn’t want to imagine the years where Sam was alone, but he knows his brother has missed him deeply. He can feel it in every line of Sam’s body holding on to him.

_Time up here, it’s… it’s different._

Patting his back, Dean is content to have his brother. An arm wrapped around him, they lean close together on the bridge. Gazing out at the glistening water and the forest of deciduous and evergreens. They stand in silence, feeling the warm press of each other’s bodies and the sun on their backs. The air crisp, smelling like sweet mountain air and ozone. It’s Sam who speaks the first.

“It’s beautiful,” he murmurs, his voice hushed as if in a holy place. Which, Dean guesses… they really are.

“It is,” Dean replies. Another beat of silence, of peace, of being content in their space together. “Wanna take a drive?” He asks, head gesturing to Baby behind him.

Sam nods, clearing his throat and hastily wiping away a tear or two. It has been a while for his brother. But they are together now. In heaven, the one that Jack and Cas created… _together_.

_Time up here, it’s… it’s different._

Dean reminds himself. There is no urgency here. Only the peace they deserve. He climbs into his Baby, cranks her up, and looks over at his brother. Sam’s beaming, a smile spread so wide Dean can barely see his eyes. The roads ebb and flow around them, around Baby, and they drive on. Nowhere to go, nowhere to be. Just enjoying the road stretched out before them.

Sam unfurls his story. The words slow at first, as if he could hurt Dean by telling him about his life, but is encouraged by Dean’s content countenance and the joy dancing in his green eyes. Through Sam’s stories, Dean loves his nephew… the other Dean in Sam’s life. He’s so thankful to the child for filling that hole in Sam’s heart. Giving him the life that his little brother always deserved. The ache in Dean’s chest, the part of him that always worries about his brother, is smoothed over.

They drive. The road stretched out before them. They’ve got nothing but time.

Each moment is cherished because he knows it won’t be last. The urgency of life has melted away and it’s just Sam and Dean and Baby. Dean drives and they talk. They laugh. And through his stories… Dean gets to learn Sam the father, Sam the ex-hunter, and ultimately Sam without Dean.

The road melts away from Dean as he pulls up onto gravel road, he drives slowly over the gravel each bump making Baby rock like the big boat she is. This road, this tougher road is out to a lake. The mountain tips casting shadows over the water. It’s so familiar… like the lake in his dreams. A dock spreads out into it, dividing the blue-green water with sturdy brown wood. From the car, Dean can see the fishing gear and chairs and most importantly his little green cooler out on the dock. From here, Dean knows that there are enough chairs and beer for four men. Clapping Sam on the shoulder, he kills the engine and opens the door. The familiar creak of metal is a welcome sound.

He walks down to the dock, grabbing one of the chairs and setting it to the side. Sam’s trailing after him and doing the same. They set up all four chairs and grab the fishing gear.

Dean reminds himself, _it’s different_ , while they wait and fish.

Their voices carry across the water, talking about nothing and everything. Sam’s cadence rising and falling whenever he mentions his wife and his son. He misses them, the family he created. His heart is content with his brother, Dean knows this because he feels the same, but like Sam, Dean misses the family he created too.

His son, his angel. Dean thinks of them in the quiet moments. Dean waits, they fish.

_Time up here, it’s… it’s different._

“Hello,” a familiar voice calls from behind them.

Sam is first to jump, quickly embracing Jack in a tight hug. Dean moves slower, his eyes taking his fill of his son… and the angel standing behind him. Frankly, Sam holds on too tight to Jack, so much so that Jack lets out a little cough and pats Sam’s back to let him go. Dean smiles, getting up as Jack is let go.

He hugs his son, a quiet, “Hey kid,” falls from his lips.

“Dean,” Jack murmurs, and they both turn to Sam and Cas holding on to each other. His brother pats Cas’s back sniffling noisily.

“Hello, Sam,” Castiel states, his voice low and gravely. Peaceful. Sam lets his angel go, arms hesitant as if Cas will disappear before his eyes.

“How I’ve missed you both,” Sam’s watery voice catches on the chuckle.

Dean laughs along with his brother, Castiel turning to him with a hesitant smile, slightly guarded eyes. Without a second thought, only wanting to erase the distance between the two of them, Dean pulls Castiel to him. Folding his angel into his arms. This hug feels different and the same as every other hug. Electrifying, sparks flying like that night in the barn so long ago.

And yet another piece of his soul settles, taking comfort in this hug and coming home. While Sam is the other half of Dean’s soul… Castiel… Castiel is something more to even Dean. He knows Castiel. His entirety calls out to the angel who rescued him. Every nerve, every cell, every fiber of his being calls and longs for the angel in front of him. Castiel is restored, more than restored and he’s the angel he was always meant to be. He is Dean’s embodiment of free will and family, crack in his chassis and all.

_“Dean.”_

His name is barely audible from Castiel’s lips, but he can feel the rumble of it in the angel’s chest… so closely pressed to his own.

Pulling back a little, so he can look into those blue eyes, Dean lets out his own soft _“Cas.”_ He pulls his angel, the one who loves him the most in his entire existence and knows him the best, back into a hug. Dean can feel each one of Castiel’s fingers flex into his back, their hug almost stifling but Dean won’t be the first to let go. He won’t let go. He can’t let go. There was never enough time for the two of them on Earth.

_Time up here, it’s… it’s different._

Dean presses a kiss into Castiel’s cheek, resting his forehead against his angel’s temple. His voice quiet, just for Castiel, “I love you, too.”

They’ve got nothin’ but time now, different or not.


End file.
